Navigation system and method

ABSTRACT

A non-scaled, linearly compressed pictographic mapping system is provided for the visual display of information in a navigational aid. Unlike today&#39;s road maps which use a point-arc-polygon paradigm, the new mapping uses a non-scaled, linearly-compressed pictographic design that shows roads as linear pictograms. The display has a columnar layout, whereby the descriptive elements are grouped together by type, and displayed one above the other in columns. The maps may also contain icons representing points of interest. In this manner, the mapping paradigm also serves to increase traveler safety, provide navigation assistance during address-less trips, create valuable advertising space and new promotional opportunities, and dramatically increases the travelers&#39; communications and entertainment options.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/772,988, filed May 3, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,726,513, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,819,filed Jan. 4, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,478, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/692,647, filedJun. 21, 2005, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method and system ofproviding an interactive navigational and mapping tool. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a novel method and systemfor providing a linearly arranged visual display for the purpose ofsimplifying the navigation process, making it easier to stay on course,and reducing the incidence of getting lost.

The difficulty with nearly all mapping and navigational technology todayis that the underlying assumptions used to generate the representationof the map are based on an antiquated navigational representationsystem. Principally, all of the available navigational aids rely on thewell-known point-arc-polygon (“cartographic”) representation. Thispoint-arc-polygon paradigm, which is the underlying principle used bytoday's maps, is derived from the introduction of latitude by the Greeksaround 225 B.C. and accurate longitude measurements in the seventeenthcentury. For geographers of that time period, the best graphicrepresentation to depict areas on Earth was found to be a representationthat was produced from the perspective of a bird several hundred feet upin the sky. This “bird's eye” view was then thought to be the mostcompact way of representing large areas in writing, and compact drawingswere important at that time because maps were being drawn by hand onexpensive materials. In this manner, the smaller the maps, the lessmanual labor and costly materials required for producing them.

Ultimately, because of the difficulty and cost associated with theproduction of maps, the principal purpose for maps was to represent landboundaries and other non-road related land features. Most importantly,land boundaries were critical because until fairly recently in terms ofhistory, finding new land, clearing and planting it, and fighting for itpreoccupied most everyone's time and energy. Roads, on the other hand,were few and far between and had little direct monetary value, otherthan the toll fees they generated for the owners of the land they passedthrough. Most people never traveled more than a few miles from theirhomes. Furthermore, at that time most roads were mere narrow dirtpathways. Rain, snow, slides, horses' hoofs, and cart wheelscontinuously damaged the roads, necessitating frequent redirecting andrelocating. Consequently, maps were notoriously unreliable when it cameto depicting roads. Therefore, in cartographic maps, because of thesupreme importance originally accorded to non-road related land featuresand their boundaries, these features are clearly visible and highlydetailed. Roads, on the other hand, are shown as thin lines that meanderall over the place, their paths and directions dictated by thetopography of the landmass they cross, and by the administrativejurisdictions controlling them.

Today, however, travelers are much more concerned with the roads theytravel on than with the landmass they pass through. Since the advent ofthe automobile at the beginning of the 20^(th) century, travelers haveneeded to know much more about the roads they travel, because navigatinga 3,000-pound car at 65 miles an hour is highly dependent on roadconditions and the interconnectivity of those roads. In this regard,travelers now want highly detailed information about the roads,including the number of lanes, grade, pavement quality, lane markings,lighting, speed limits, directions, and many other road-specificattributes. The difficulty is that relatively little has changed in theway that roads are represented on present day maps. Except for sometypes of travel, such as sightseeing, travelers are not generallyconcerned with the landmass situated between their start and destinationpoints. They cannot afford to spend much time looking out the window orat information related to the landmass, lest they be late to where theyare going, or worse, get into an accident.

Currently, the most commonly used navigational aids include pre-printedmaps, map books, on-demand computer maps, compasses, and globalpositioning system (GPS) based navigational devices. Generally, all ofthese navigational aids are based on, or rely upon, information obtainedfrom cartographic maps. The difficulty is that whenever geographicfeatures and feature classes are represented on a communication medium,e.g. in print, on a computer display monitor, or on a TV set monitor,geometric generalization necessarily takes place. As a result of thelimiting aspects of cartographic representation, a large amount ofgeneralization must be performed in order to make a displayed mapreadable. The need for generalization, such as for example, thesimplification of the shapes of displayed figures, exaggeration of afigure's size, displacement of a figure relative to its actual location,and removal of a figure altogether introduce additional limitations tocartographic representation. These generalizations result in increasingthe level of graphic abstraction relative to the original surveyed formof the geographic features and feature classes described. This problembecomes further amplified when a low-resolution display device isutilized to display and print maps.

Each particular form of navigational aid from the prior art has its ownunique drawbacks. For example, while pre-printed maps, such as the onedepicted in FIG. 1, are widely available and can be purchased in retailoutlets or via the Internet, these maps use the conventionalcartographic method of visual presentation (see FIG. 1). Some newerstyle maps try to create a sense of perspective. However, while theseperspective-style maps are more attractive than their non-perspectivecounterparts, this style of representation is not necessarily better fornavigating because the images depicted still do not represent thetypical images travelers see when navigating in real life. Unless theyare at the top of a hill, travelers see things from eye-level, with nolong-view perspective. Accordingly, these perspective-enhanced maps(often referred to as “3-D”) do not offer a significant cognitiveimprovement.

Generally, today's pre-printed maps present a series of problems.Regardless of the current direction of travel, pre-printed maps areoriented to show North at the top, thus making it difficult to getorientated when traveling in any direction other than a Northerlydirection. When these maps are rotated to match the user's actualheading, their labels end up upside down, at an angle, or sideways,making the labels difficult to read, especially since typically they areshown in small fonts. Further, the conventional maps are typically largein size and made of thin paper, and thus are difficult to hold whilewalking, driving, or while outdoors in inclement weather. Their largesize also requires that they be folded or rolled when not in use. Theirsmall print and the multitude of text, lines, symbols and graphics allcrowded together makes them difficult to read and understand, especiallyby people with bad eyesight. They are also hard to orient in thedirection of travel without a compass, a task that is particularlydifficult for untrained users. Retail outlets may not carry the latestversion of maps that cover regions beyond the local area of the retailoutlet, a problem that is not readily apparent to the buyers. Finally,users may need several such maps to cover a single trip.

Similar in nature to pre-printed maps, map books such as the ThomasGuides™ and Thomas Bros. Road Atlases™ are pre-printed collections ofrelated maps in bound book form (Thomas Guides and Thomas Bros. RoadAtlases are trademarks of Rand McNally Company). They attempt to getaround some of the handling problems of single sheet pre-printed maps bysegmenting large geographic areas into smaller areas and placing themonto separate pages. While this makes the individual maps easier tohandle, map books introduce their own problems. Most importantly, it isdifficult to follow a planned travel route that spans several pageswithin the book. This requires the user to follow one portion of a roadon one page to another portion of the same road on another page wherethe respective pages in the map books are not necessarily adjacent toeach other. In addition, map books can be rather heavy and cumbersome tohold while looking for the right map. Finally, map books are ratherexpensive, typically costing between $30 and $40 each and can bedifficult to find in stores located outside of the geographic areascovered by their maps.

Another navigational aid used in the prior art is the compass. Compassesconsist of a thin piece of magnetic material that is free to rotate on apivot mounted in a compass case. The North-seeking pole on the magneticmaterial is indicated and the points of the compass are marked toindicate North, South, East and West. Similarly, digital compasses havebeen introduced which display the compass points and the direction oftravel digitally. Since compasses on their own do not give the userenough information to travel from one point to another, a traveler mustuse a compass in conjunction with a map, wherein such usage requiressome level of training and practice. Further, because compasses aremagnetic devices, their accuracy can be severely affected by proximityto ferrous metals and by physical location. In most cases, an initialcalibration is needed if a compass is installed inside a vehicle orboat.

In response to the bulky and cumbersome nature of printed forms of maps,computer maps that are printed or displayed using computer devices areincreasingly used for navigation purposes. However, computer maps alsohave several problems. FIG. 2 for example is a conventional map of acomplete trip produced using the service available at www.mappoint.comand FIG. 3 is a “LineDrive” format map of the same trip as depicted inFIG. 2 produced using the service available at www.mappoint.com.(Mappoint and LineDrive are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation).

The primary problem with today's computer maps is their low-resolution.Currently, computer displays typically have resolutions in pixels of800×600, 1024×768 and 1280×1024, with typical monitor sizes of 15″, 17″and 19″. When displaying a map formed from a large array of pixels on acomputer monitor, many of the features and text may become illegible ordisappear entirely. Since there is a wide variety of monitor sizes andresolutions, and the variation in resolution between devices could be ashigh as a factor of 5, computer maps designers have created conceptualand semantic generalizations to display certain features. Principally,digital map designers have made decisions to omit entire featureclasses, reclassify features into different or new feature classes, andrepresent features and feature classes using symbols and icons. As aresult, most computer generated cartographic maps are difficult, if notimpossible, to read and use effectively when displayed on the monitorsof small form devices such as palmtop computers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), GPS-based systems, and mobile telephones.

The next advance in computerized mapping is computerized mapping with anactive GPS locator. GPS-based systems provide a user with 24-hourthree-dimensional position, velocity and time information to identifythe user's exact location on or near the surface of the Earth. Thesignal data is then used in conjunction with a digital map that is heldresident in the user's device to place a representation of the user'sposition on a cartographic map. There are currently three satellitenavigation systems operational, or soon-to-be operational, GPS (U.S.operated), GLONASS (Russian-operated), and GALILEO (European-operated).In addition, Wireless Assisted GPS systems (A-GPS) such as thoseavailable from SnapTrak, Inc., use a hybrid of satellite and terrestrialsignals, which enables them to operate more effectively than unassistedGPS in environments such as indoors, and high-rise urban areas.

GPS-based systems are used in a wide range of directional, tracking, andmonitoring applications on land, water and in the air and they arebecoming increasingly popular, especially in vehicles and for wildernesstrekking. When given exact starting and ending locations for a trip,GPS-based systems with route-guidance capabilities can provideturn-by-turn travel directions, visually and/or by voice. GPS-basedsystems display the current position on a map that moves in translationand rotation as the user moves, or as a fixed North-up map on which anindicator moves to indicate the current position. As with all of thepreviously discussed navigational systems, GPS-based systems also have anumber of problems associated with them. Since GPS-based devices containseveral electronic and mechanical components, extensive software, andvery large databases depicting cartographic map representations thatrequire constant updating in the field, these systems typically costover $500 (in 2005). Due to space constraints, most of the installeddisplays are up to twenty times smaller than typical computer monitors,making it difficult to show any information other than the most basic,omitting much of the information critical for navigating, such as mostof the roads. This problem is compounded by the fact that the resolutionof the displays is relatively low, making it practically impossible toread small text and graphics from the driver's seat, while maintaining asafe driving position. Accordingly, unless the GPS-based device providesaudible voice turn-by-turn instructions, GPS-based systems are oflimited help while engaged in other attention-intensive activities suchas driving. For this reason, new regulations require that vehicles be ina parked position in order to access certain of the systems' functionssuch as setting a new destination address.

Further limiting the usefulness of GPS-based navigation is the fact thatsome information is inaccurate due to the delay between the time thedata is captured in the field and the time it is updated on the users'display. Often, this is coupled with the fact that the images displayedon the screen move with a somewhat jerky motion because of the time ittakes to populate each screen with the intensive graphics displayed bycartographic maps and because the display is refreshed every second orso. In addition, information about intervening intersections andsurrounding areas around the programmed route is typically left out oris not available. Accordingly, the turn-by-turn directions address onlythe transition points i.e. points that require decisions to be made inorder to stay on the original course. The user is thus kept uninformedregarding any information that is relevant in between the transitionpoints for periods sometimes lasting tens of intersections and tens ofmiles. This creates anxiety for the user and is a major cause ofcognitive overload.

Finally, GPS systems do not provide much assistance for users that arenot traveling to a precisely-defined destination or address. Little, ifany, assistance is provided for such “address-less” travel, such asway-finding when lost, traveling in familiar areas, cruising about, orsightseeing.

Ultimately, the problem with all of these maps and devices is groundedin the cartographic representation that they utilize to define spatialrelationships for the user. In each case, the chosen user interfacemakes it difficult for the user to employ the navigational aid in amanner that is truly helpful. Psychologists have found that people'sperception of space is experience-based. The human brain is wired suchthat people must experience space in person in order to fully understandit. This experience-based view is in direct contrast to the abstract wayin which space is described by cartographic maps, (Newtonian spacecontaining Euclidian objects). Maps use abstract mental constructs, suchas points, lines and polygons (Euclidian objects), which cannot beexperienced through the human senses. The points, arcs, and polygons ofcartographic maps have no counterparts in the real world, and thus, mostpeople have difficulty reading maps because they simply cannot imaginein their mind's eye something that they have not personally experienced.This causes the human brain to fight and block the cartographic maps'attempts to represent space. Merely looking at a map does not substitutefor the direct and personal experience humans need in order tounderstand space.

Reducing or totally eliminating this dichotomy between the manner inwhich people actually perceive space and the way in which cartographicmaps represent space has not been a priority in the world ofcartography. Cartographers have not consulted with specialists inergonomics or experts in mass-media communications to assist them inconfronting and resolving problems of human perception when attemptingto understand and utilize cartographic representations. MarshallMcLuhan, arguably the father of mass-media communication science, statedthat “the medium is the message”, i.e. messages take much of theirmeaning from the means by which they are delivered to the readers,listeners, and viewers. Thus, a clue to solving the dichotomy betweenhow people perceive space and how cartographic maps describe it is toreplace such maps with representations that evoke spaces that peoplehave actually experienced.

Due to the general unfamiliarity and discomfort most users have with thespatial representations that are used in cartographic maps, reading andinterpreting such maps requires a great deal of mental and sensoryactivity. A user must use scales to convert distances and areas, theymust rotate images, they must read very small letters, symbols andnumbers, and they must be able to track thin lines that weave in andout, all of which is made more difficult because the text and graphics(e.g. points, arcs, polygons, logos, icons) are usually densely packedtogether into small areas. Furthermore, some navigation systems useperspective geometry to depict roads and exit lanes as if viewed from anangle from above and narrowing in the distance. The perspective imagesgenerated may not be familiar to users, as they do not represent theactual images they see when they are within sight of roads or exit lanesin real life. All of these activities take away time and attention fromthe main tasks of traveling, such as driving, riding, running, walking,and sightseeing.

Cognitive load research has shown that short-term memory is limited inthe number of elements it can contain simultaneously. As a result, inthe presence of any distractions, task performance that depends on theuse of short-term memory quickly starts to decay. The price of the highcognitive load associated with reading and interpreting maps is that thegreat majority of people have difficulty using maps, especially whileperforming other tasks. The newer computer-based navigation systems,whether GPS-based, standalone computer-based, or Internet-based,alleviate some of the cognitive overload problems, however, theyintroduce new ones, such as low resolution displays and printers, andperforming new tasks necessary to operate the systems themselves.Because of the built-in cognitive overload of these systems, manyinformation and entertainment products and services are impractical touse in conjunction with them. Thus, major commercial opportunities aremissed, technological synergy is squandered, and users continue to havenavigation difficulties. Accordingly, minimizing the short-term memoryrequirements and reducing the overall cognitive load are essential forcreating usable maps and navigation systems. Whereas viewing landmassthrough a bird's eye view from hundreds or thousands of feet above issatisfactory for that purpose, to clearly see the roads and to know allthat matters about them requires a much different view.

In addition to consuming a large amount of short-term recall capacity,most navigational aids base their instructions to users on numericalinformation such as distance and time. This presents a series ofproblems. First, it requires keeping an accurate count of the distancestraveled and the time passed for each stage of a trip. Second, sincedistances are hard to measure on maps, the numbers used may beinaccurate. Third, some people travel faster and others travel slower.Finally, numeric reckoning is only satisfactory for about half of thegeneral population. It is estimated that the general population isevenly divided between left-brain and right-brain thinkers. Numericreckoning is a left-brain activity and thus it is not a satisfactorycommunication method for right-brain thinkers. Right-brain thinkersprefer landmark-based reckoning because it is picture-based and visual,rather than data-based and auditory (NOTE: text is an auditory form ofcommunication as it is a symbolic representation of sounded words).Right brain thinkers cannot effectively visualize how long a distanceis, or estimate how long it takes to travel that distance. One of theeasiest ways to navigate is to match real life landmarks (e.g.intersections, points of interest, signs, or any other visible thing,place, structure, or marking) with their respective representations on amap and/or directions given. Unfortunately, this is not an easy feat toaccomplish using today's navigational aids, given the typically smallsize of their maps' text and graphics, and the paucity of landmarksshown.

To get such a view, we need to get much closer to the roads' surfaces,we need to analyze and record the roads' relevant attributes, and wemust do this from every possible direction of travel and point of view.We need to depict everything that matters about the roads in a way thatis quick and easy to read, and clear and unambiguous to understand. Mostimportantly, we must do it in a way that does not detract from thetravelers' enjoyment, or distract them from safely performing othertravel-related tasks, whether they are driving, riding, running,walking, listening to music, or talking on the cell phone.

Accordingly, there is a need for a new navigational aid that provides arepresentational display that is modernized as compared to cartographicmap representations. There is a further need for a navigational aid thatuses a different cartographic paradigm in that the display devotes morevisual space to roads than to landmass while utilizing experientialrather than abstract representations of space. There is yet a furtherneed for a navigational aid that takes into consideration the humanfactors in engineering and that reduces the cognitive load experiencedby users, while also including more pictures in order to assist“right-brain dominant” users. Finally, there is a need for anavigational aid that satisfies the needs of “address-less” travel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In this regard, the present invention provides for a novel navigationalaid that is based on a new modular linear-pictographic-topologicalmapping paradigm. In this manner, the present invention provides asystem and method wherein the roads being traveled are depicted asnon-scaled, compressed linear representations that overcome most of theabove-identified problems encountered in prior art navigational aids.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the display depicts roadslinearly (i.e. in a straight line), without any curves or turns ratherthan showing roads as thin squiggly lines meandering around and throughlandmass, as was the case in the prior art. This graphic representationserves to reduce the cognitive load on users by eliminating the need todo mental image rotations and also serves to reduce eyestrain andfatigue.

In another embodiment, the present invention utilizes verticallyoriented linear pictograms to depict roads. The pictograms bring a senseof familiarity by simulating images of actual roads. This method alsoserves to reduce the users' cognitive load as well as create additionalvisual space, which can be used for new applications as will bedescribed in detail below.

In yet a further embodiment of the present invention the roadinformation is depicted in a relational, unscaled manner rather than inthe traditional geographic manner. In other words, the information inthe display is presented in a manner that compresses the distancesbetween intersecting roads so that many more intersections can berepresented all at once, in an easily readable image.

In order to make it easier for a user to find relevant information, mapsmade according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention usea columnar layout, whereby the descriptive elements are grouped togetherby type, and displayed one above the other in columns symmetricallydisposed to the right and left of the vertically oriented linearrepresentations of the current roads.

In addition to providing a navigational aid that is easier to read,manipulate and understand, the method and system of the presentinvention also serves to free up as much as 80% of the visual space onthe display that was traditionally used by prior art cartographic mapsfor depicting landmass and the twists and turns of roads. In thismanner, the freed-up space can be used to enhance the readability of themaps, increase the geographic area that can be seen in a single map,enable the delivery of more information, and facilitate the integrationof new capabilities into the navigational aids, such as advertising,personal communications and entertainment. Further, many different typesof special purpose maps can be created using the present invention, suchas tourist area maps, shopping area maps, real estate maps, demographicsmaps, and economics maps.

Other benefits of the method and system of the present invention includethe use of a high-level of human-factors engineering wherein thenavigational aid uses the optimum mix of factors such as orientation,layout, perspective, scale, text size, graphics, and other factorsaffecting human brain processing and perception. Also, elements that themethod and system incorporates provide the user with assistance foraddress-less travel, that is, travel to a location without a specificending address. Finally, the navigational aids of the present inventionare simpler and less expensive to manufacture than prior artnavigational aids, thus making them more affordable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anavigational aid wherein navigational information is depicted usinglinear representations. It is a further object of the present inventionto provide a navigational aid that displays the necessary routeinformation in a linear pictogram showing the primary road on which theuser is traveling and all of the required route information as graphicrepresentations. It is yet a further object of the present invention toprovide a navigational aid that displays the necessary navigationalinformation in a manner that reduces the overall space required for sucha display and thus reduces the amount of information that must beprocessed by the user in order to understand the presentation.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with variousfeatures of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed outwith particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part ofthis disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, itsoperating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplatedfor carrying out the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a typical conventional paper cartographic map of an area ofLos Angeles, Calif., including a portion of S. La Brea Blvd;

FIG. 2 is a conventional map of a complete trip produced using theservice available at www.mappoint.com;

FIG. 3 is a “LineDrive” format map of the same trip as depicted in FIG.2 produced using the service available at www.mappoint.com;

FIG. 4 is a map of the same trip as depicted in FIG. 2, generated inaccordance with the method and system of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 to 8 show the detailed maps of each of the four segments of thetrip shown in FIG. 4, produced according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a representative map for a typical freeway-type roadsegment, generated in accordance with the method and system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 shows a representative map for a typical multiple lane freewayexit, generated in accordance with the method and system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10A graphically illustrates the present mapping system includingicon clouds geographically representing points of interest near thecurrent location but outside of the roads depicted by the system;

FIG. 11 shows a map generated in accordance with the method and systemof the present invention as displayed on the screen of a cellulartelephone;

FIG. 11a is an example of a standalone device used for display ofnavigational information in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11b is a schematic drawing depicting one embodiment of the elementsof the system of the present invention;

FIG. 11c is a schematic drawing depicting an alternate embodiment of theelements of the system of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart depicting a start module for the method of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting a page generator module for the methodof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a typical map display shown when using the “explore” featureof the present invention, in text format;

FIG. 15 is typical map display shown when using the “explore” feature ofthe present invention, in pictographic format;

FIG. 16 shows a few typical road and traffic hazards, as they wouldappear on a map created according to the present invention

FIG. 17 is an example of a typical shopping block view as depicted inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an example of a map depicting the integration of real-timetraffic information in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19 shows a typical page of a map book made according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 shows a page of a map book made according to the presentinvention, which is a continuation of the map on the page in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 shows a typical point-arc-polygon map layout with the gridformed by the thick vertical and horizontal lines denoting the roads,and the landmass between the roads denoted by rectangles with a diagonallines pattern background;

FIG. 22 shows the same point-arc-polygon layout from FIG. 21, but thelandmass has been removed and only the roads are left;

FIG. 23 depicts the roads from FIG. 22 in a compressed mannerillustrating a saving in required display and storage space ofapproximately 80%;

FIG. 24 graphically illustrates the total amount of visual space thatwas removed from the image surface of the map in FIG. 21 when thelandmass was removed;

FIG. 25 shows a typical linear-pictogram representation of a road;

FIG. 26 shows a conventional point-arc-polygon map displayed on atypical portable GPS system; and

FIG. 27 shows a map in accordance with the present invention displayedon a typical portable GPS system and covering the same location as isdepicted in FIG. 26.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a novel system and method that isdirected to assisting users with point-to-point navigation or for thepurpose of planning trips in advance. The benefits of the system andmethod of the present invention include an improvement in safety and areduction in cognitive distraction that is typically associated withusing a navigational device. The system and method of the presentinvention also assists users with “address-less” travel, such asnavigating with little, incorrect, or no destination information or wayfinding when lost.

In this regard, the following definitions are provided for the purposeof the disclosure of the present invention.

“Arc” is defined by The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical DictionaryCopyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company as “a curvedline or segment of a circle.”

“Bird's eye view” for the purposes of the present invention is definedas “a panoramic view of the ground such as a bird might see fromhundreds or thousands of feet high above the ground.”

“Cartographic map” for the purposes of the present invention is definedas “a map that uses the point-arc-polygon method of visualpresentation.”

“Cartography” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as“the method of visually representing areas on the Earth's surface usingpoints, arcs, and polygons.”

“Clip art” is defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of theEnglish Language, Fourth Edition as “ready-made pieces of printed orcomputerized graphic art, such as illustrations, borders, andbackgrounds, that can be electronically copied and used to decorate adocument.”

“Current road segment” for the purposes of the present invention isdefined as “the main road segment being featured in a display and/or ona printed page.”

“Ergonomics” is defined by The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, ©1993-2005 Denis Howe as “the study of the design and arrangement ofequipment so that people will interact with the equipment in healthy,comfortable, and efficient manner. As related to computer equipment,ergonomics is concerned with such factors as the physical design of thekeyboard, display monitors, and related hardware, and the manner inwhich people interact with these hardware devices.”

“Geocaching” is defined by Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary ofEnglish, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6) Copyright © 2003-2005 LexicoPublishing Group, LLC as “a type of scavenger hunt for waterproofcontainers bearing treasure using the containers' exact geographiccoordinates and Global Positioning System devices.”

“GPS” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as “allglobal navigation satellite services, including GPS, A-GPS and otherearth-based and satellite-based automated location and positioningtechnologies.”

“Hovering view” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as“the view of a place on the ground that someone would see if hoveringdirectly above that place on the ground. The view has no perspective,unlike the “bird's eye view.”

“Input”, “request”, “select”, “choose” for the purposes of the presentinvention are defined as “an action that involves the use of one or moreof the devices and methods typically used by people in order tocommunicate with computing devices, including tapping a keyboard key,moving a pointing device, gliding a finger on a touch-pad, pressing abutton, sliding a lever, tapping a touch-screen display monitor, movinga yoke, using a joystick, speaking into a microphone, etc.”

“Intersection” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as“a point where three or more path segments meet.”

“Landmark” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as “aphysical reference point such as an object of note, building, mountain,tower, store.”

“Landmass” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as “anyland area that is not used for roads or landmarks.”

“Linear pictogram” for the purposes of the present invention is definedas “a pictogram whose picture is a linear image of a road, transformedto show the road in a straightened-out fashion, i.e. all curves andturns in the road have been removed.”

“Location Based Services” (LBS) for the purposes of the presentinvention is defined as “services provided to a user based on theautomatic determination of the geographic location of the user'swireless device.”

“Mapcast” is a new term created specifically for the present invention,defined as “transmitting the location and related information to usersof the present invention.”

“Paradigm” is defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of theEnglish Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton MifflinCompany as “a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices thatconstitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them,especially in an intellectual discipline.”

“Pictogram” is defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of theEnglish Language, Fourth Edition as “a picture representing a word oridea.”

“Polygon” is defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Companyas “a closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.”

“Reckoning” (also referred to as “taking a fix”) for the purposes of thepresent invention is defined as “a method of used by a traveler toestimate the current position without assistance from a GPS-baseddevice, by comparing landmarks visible in real life with the landmarksshown on a map or listed/described on direction instructions.”

“Road” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as “apathway used for driving or riding a vehicle, running, walking,strolling, hiking.”

“Road segment” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as“a portion or the entirety of a road”, where “road” is defined as above.

“Shown”, “indicated”, “played”, “rendered”, “represented”, “sent” and“transmitted” when used in connection to an output from the presentinvention, are defined for the purposes of the present invention as “oneor more actions that involve the use of one or more of the devicesand/or methods typically used by electronic devices and computers inorder to communicate with people and/or other devices, includingdisplaying images and/or text on computer display monitors, printingimages and/or text on printers, playing audio messages, and sendingelectronic signals to other devices.”

“System” for the purposes of the present invention is defined as“software and/or hardware and/or services, separate or in combinationoperating according to the needs of the present invention.”

“Topological map” for the purposes of the present invention is definedas “a combinatorial structure without geometric information”.

Turning now to the figures, the present invention is best illustrated byproviding an example of its use for the purpose of planning andfollowing a point-to-point travel route. FIG. 4 illustrates an overalltravel route 2, as it would be displayed using the navigational methodand system of the present invention. A user inputs a departure location4 and an arrival destination 6 and the system provides a schematicdisplay representing the route 2 in simple and linear terms. As can beclearly contrasted with the prior art mapping systems of the prior artas depicted in FIGS. 1-3, the present invention depicts all of therelevant roadways in a linear pictographic manner. That is, each roadthat is traveled along the overall travel route is depicted as astraight line with all landmass features removed. This does not meanthat all relevant information is removed from the displayed map, onlythat the display of the route is simplified by removing all of thelandmass features and the various twists and turns of the given road. Inother words, the present invention uses linear pictograms that look verymuch like the real life road surfaces they represent, however they arerepresented linearly regardless of whether the actual roads beingrepresented are straight-line or curved. This prevents the need tocontinually reorient the map to match the actual travel direction beingfollowed as the user travels over a winding road, thus reducing thelevel of cognitive distraction.

Additionally, the pictograms used by the present invention could be madeto resemble specific types of roads e.g. city streets, highways, fords,etc. Other pictograms could represent man-made and natural features suchas bridges, tunnels, buildings, rivers, etc. This can be accomplished bygraphic design techniques such as showing the number of lanes typicalfor that type of road, and lane separation markers (e.g. single whitedashed line, two solid yellow lines, etc). For example, a two-way streetwith one traffic lane in each direction can be shown as two parallellines and a gray background between them with a white dotted line downthe middle. Further, pictograms or portions of pictograms could beactionable objects which, when selected by the user, would offer theuser additional information and/or access to more capabilities. Forexample, by selecting a pictogram of the current road segment, thepresent invention could show historical, entertainment, and otherinformation such as average daily traffic volumes, traffic accidentrates, the date when this road's construction was completed, the numberof tons of concrete used to build this road, famous personalities thathave traveled on this road, famous events that have taken place on ornear this road, etc.

As can be further seen from the route overview provided in FIG. 4, eachleg of the planned travel route 2 is further broken down road by roadfor individual display on subsequent sequentially displayed screens.Specifically, each portion of the trip between major transitions points,such as turns onto new roads, is depicted on its own sequentiallyarranged display screen.

FIG. 5 shows the user departing from the departure location 4, which isindicated as 3400 S. La Brea. The display screen provides the user withdirections to commence the planned travel route 2. Specifically, theuser is to turn right onto S. La Brea from their current location as isindicated by the arrow 8.

Once the user turns right onto S. La Brea, the display updates toindicate the new location of the user as is shown in FIG. 6. The displayin FIG. 6 is an exemplary map of a current road segment 10 that is aportion of S. La Brea Blvd., generated according to the presentinvention. The pictogram of the road segment 10 in the center of the mapis oriented in the direction of travel. In other words, the pictogramthat represents the road 10 on which the user is traveling is alwaysoriented in an up and down forward facing manner. Further, the road 10appears as a straight line, without any of its actual curves. Withrespect to the graphic representation of the roadway 10, the overallpictogram resembles, fairly closely, what the road segment 10 looks likein real life, and was selected because it most closely matches theattributes for this road segment 10 that were found in the database usedby the present invention. The pictogram shows the actual number oflanes, the traffic directions, and every single intersecting road 12,which would be encountered in real life if a user were to travel overthe entire length of the road segment 10 shown. In addition, a number ofpoints of interest 14 are shown, such as Chevron™ and Mobil™ gasolinestations, McDonalds™ and Burger King™ fast food outlets, IHOP™restaurant, several ATMs, a Marriott™ hotel, and department storesTarget™ and Kmart™ thereby providing the users with landmarks to helporient the user to their surroundings and enhance the users' comfortlevel as they progress along the travel route 2. (Chevron, Mobil,McDonalds, Burger King, IHOP, Marriot, Target and Kmart are thetrademarks of their respective owners). The current location 16 of theuser is always shown near the bottom of the map in addition to adepiction of the current travel direction bearing, in this case, North.Near the center of the display is another large arrow 18 indicating thelocation where the user will have to turn left to continue traveling onthe planned travel route 2.

Once the user follows the directions by following the arrow 18 andtaking a left turn onto Wilshire, the display again updates to adepiction such as is provided in FIG. 7. In particular, FIG. 7 shows thefirst road segment 10 of the Wilshire road that would be displayed ifthe user turned left (going West) onto Wilshire from La Brea. Again,note that although the user is now traveling west, the road segment 10is oriented in an up and down fashion. Again an arrow 20 is provided totell the user in a graphic manner that a right turn is imminent if theuser plans to remain on the preset travel route 2.

Finally, FIG. 8 shows the user where the entry for the final destinationlocation 6 for this travel route 2 is located again by using a graphicarrow 22.

As was illustrated by the example provided in FIGS. 4-8, maps generatedaccording to preferred embodiments of the present invention show roads10 in topological fashion rather than using the geographic method as wasutilized in the prior art. By representing the roadways 10topologically, the present invention allows for the compression of allof the positions of the road intersections so that many moreintersections can be shown in a single map image. To further assist inthe compression of the image, all of the roads 10 are represented in alinear manner, thereby eliminating all of the curves and turns that aroadway normally takes, and they intersect the current road segment at aright angle (perpendicular).

In depicting the various roadway segments 10 in this fashion, thepresent invention is utilizing a fixed presentation template wherein theinformation shown on displays and printouts is predictable andconsistent from road segment 10 to road segment 10. This predictabilityof data presentation of the present invention frees up users' attentiondue to reduced visual search time. For GPS-based systems installed invehicles it also reduces the incidence of trip interruptions due tofeature lockouts. To maintain the predictability with respect to thelocation of informational data, the pictogram display provides for thecurrent road segment 10 to be positioned at or near the middle of thedisplay leaving a substantially equal amount of visual space for showingthe names of the intersecting roads 12 on the left and right sides ofthe current road segment 10. In addition, when a road intersects thecurrent road segment 10 on both sides, the intersecting road 12 name isshown both to the left and to the right of the current road segment 10.Similarly, when there is an intersecting road 12 on one side only, theopposite side is left blank 24, so that subsequent roads that intersecton both sides of the road 10 can continue to be aligned.

In addition, the present invention substitutes thegeometrically-indicated and true to scale distances of cartographicmaps, with numerically-indicated distance markers 26. This increases theamount and readability of the information that can be displayed and/orprinted. In this manner, while all of the features of the map aredepicted relationally, they are not placed using any particularpredetermined map scale. For example, as can be seen along the left sideof the display in both FIGS. 6 and 7, the distance and estimated traveltimes 26 are shown adjacent intersecting roads 12 and/or exits toindicate the distance and estimated time to reach them from the currentlocation of the user. These distance markers 26 could indicate specificdistance intervals and may be displayed in imperial units or metricunits, such as for example, miles, yards, feet, kilometers, meters orany other suitable distance measurement system. Additionally, thedistance markers 26 could be set at different distances on differentroad segments 10 for the same travel route 2, depending on the level ofdetail and the number of intersections 12 in the specific road segment10 being displayed. Further, the distance markers 26 are updated basedon the current position 16 of the user so that each of the distances andestimated travel times to the upcoming intersections 12 are accuratebased on the current position 16 of the user.

In the pictographic view of the present invention, the roads thatintersect 12 the current road segment 10 being displayed are listed incolumnar format (or if the map is oriented side-to-side, in row format)in the same order that they would be encountered if the user weretraveling the actual road in real life. The intersecting road 12 namesare written horizontally (or if the map is oriented side-to-side, theycould be written vertically) in plain text, and are arrangedsubstantially equidistant from each other, regardless of the actualdistance between intersections 12. They are positioned far enough fromeach other to be able to locate and read each one of them easily at aglance, yet as close as possible to each other so as to minimize thetotal height of the column of names (or width, if the map is displayedside-to-side). This allows the display to depict as long a segment ofthe currently displayed road 10 as possible within the available spaceof the page or display monitor. Further, while in the preferredembodiment the columns or rows representing cross streets orintersections 12 are equidistant, it is also possible that theintersecting roads 12 could be positioned at proportional distances fromeach other, in a substantially similar relationship to that in the realworld.

FIG. 9 further serves to illustrate the display of the present inventionwherein the pictogram represents a multi-lane highway 27. A user caneasily see that the current roadway 27 is a divided highway with fourtravel lanes in both the Northbound and Southbound directions. Further,each of the exit ramps 28 is indicated in columnar format along with thesurface streets 30 that those exits 28 serve and the amenitiesrepresented by icons 14 a user would expect to find on those streets 30.Further, FIG. 10 serves to illustrate the information provided to a useras they take one of the available exit ramps 28. The user is providedwith an expanded view of the available surface roads 32 and thedirections to turn once they exit off of the ramp 28.

For all intersecting roads 12 that lead to a highway or freewayentrance, the highway or freeway names 34 could be grouped and displayedin left and right columns, which may be used solely for displayingconnecting highway and freeway names 34. For example, see the highwaymedallions 34 displayed in FIG. 6. Similarly, as is shown in FIG. 9, anindication could be shown that a certain point of interest 31 notlocated on the current road segment and/or an important road 30 thatdoes not intersect the current road segment 26, can be reached via aroad or exit 28 intersecting the current road segment 27.

Turning to FIG. 10A, there is shown another extension of the conceptincluding point of interest icons 14 a displayed on the intersectingstreets 12 in the order of encounter on the intersecting street 12.Noticeably, the icons are not spaced out by geographical distance, butinstead are simply placed in the order of encounter. This non-spacedlinear arrangement provides for the most efficient use of space on themap for increased marketing and advertising revenue.

Additionally within FIG. 10A, there are groups or “clouds” 35 a, 35 b,35 c, 35 d of icons 14 b positioned in a peripheral information areaoutside of the central map area. These icons 14 b represent points ofinterest that are not located on the roads 10, 12 shown within thecentral map area, but are located within a specified distance from thecurrent location 16 on roads that can be accessed via roads 10, 12 shownon the map. In the configuration as illustrated, the icons are groupedinto 4 groups, based on their general geographic direction from theuser. However, the specific grouping is not critical to the concept.This arrangement allows for the user to identify a particular point ofinterest in a general quadrant of the map and aid in navigation to orfrom a point either with or without a specific destination. This alsoallows for a very compact user interface showing as many points ofinterest 14 as possible in the smallest possible space. This is anotherimportant extension of the non-spaced, linearly compressed model ofmapping.

Turning to FIGS. 11 and 11 a, the apparatus of the present invention isshown represented as a display 36 on a cellular telephone 38 or as aconventional GPS type navigation device 40 that may take the form of aroad map display or a navigational device. Similarly, the device mayconsist of a permanently installed GPS, personal computer, personaldigital assistant or a personal computer and still fall within the scopeof the present invention.

As is further depicted in FIGS. 11b and 11c , the apparatus of thepresent invention includes at least a display device 36, a storage means42 for storing road map data therein, a means for generating anddisplaying 44 a pictographic view of roads on said image display device36 based on said road map data located in said storage means 42, and aninput device 46 coupled to the means for generating and displaying 44 apictographic view of the roads. In this fashion, the input device 46allows for a user to provide input into the apparatus that is used todetermine, in part, what road map data is used in generating thepictographic view. When enabling the apparatus as a navigational aid,the apparatus further includes a position-sensing receiver 48 forreceiving signals 52 containing position information and determining acurrent position of said road map display apparatus. Theposition-sensing receiver 48 for example may be a GPS enabled receiverthat receives position data 52 from a network of GPS satellites 50. Inturn, the position-sensing receiver 48 transmits the positionalinformation to the pictographic generating device 44 for use inconnection with navigational calculations and the generating of theroadway pictographs.

It can also be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the storagemeans 42 may be any form of storage medium known in the art. Further,the storage means 42 may be maintained as a storage database that isloaded and retained within the housing of the apparatus itself.Alternately the storage means 42 may be a database that is maintained ata remote location and accessed by the apparatus via an electronicnetwork 54. Such a network 54 may be wired or wireless and may take theform of a wired internet connection, WiFi, wireless broadband, Bluetoothor any other suitable electronic communications type network.

The input device 46 may also be any type of known user interface in theart and the various features of the present invention are accessible viadifferent means designed for maximum accuracy and ease of use. Forexample, when the display device 36 is a touch-screen display monitor itwill also serve as an input device 46, wherein text and graphics couldbe made “actionable”, i.e. the user can touch displayed objects such aswords, pictograms, logos, icons, lines, points, areas, or photographs toobtain information about the things, events, places, people or ideasrepresented by the objects touched and/or start a processing task. Forexample, if a user were to touch the Kmart logo on FIG. 7, the presentinvention could display the exact address of the store, operating hours,telephone number, and merchandise on sale. The user could then selectone of the items on sale and order it. Similarly, when touching the IHOPrestaurant's icon in FIG. 6, the user could be shown the menu andallowed to make a table reservation. Alternately, the user may use anyone or more of the devices and methods typically used by people in orderto communicate with computing devices, including tapping a keyboard key,moving a pointing device, gliding a finger on a touch-pad, pressing abutton, sliding a lever, tapping a touch-screen display monitor, movinga yoke, using a joystick, speaking into a microphone, etc. for use as aninput device 46.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, flow chartsare presented in FIGS. 12 and 13 to depict potential logic structuresthat may be utilized to enable the method of the present invention. Ingeneral terms, the present invention provides method of displaying asequential set of road segments 10 wherein the sequential set of roadsegments 10 forms a cohesive set of navigational directions to a desireddestination. In the method, a storage means 42 is provided that containsa plurality of road segments 10 or geographic information. As was statedabove, this information may be maintained resident on the device, or ata remote location. A user interface is also provided that is coupled tosaid storage means 42 via a direct connection, or by any otherelectronic communication network 54 means, either wired or wireless, asis known in the art, wherein the user interface also includes an inputdevice 46. Also included in the user interface is a display generator44, such as a computer processor, that is in communication with thestorage means 42 and input device 46. In operation, the displaygenerator 44 operates to create a visual display in the form of a linearpictogram of the desired road segments 10 by obtaining input from saidinput device 46 and generating a sequential set of road segments 10selected from the plurality of road segments stored in the storagedevice 42. The sequential set of road segments 10 are selected based onthe input from the input device 42, and in this case, a manualindication by the user of the current or starting position desired. Oncethe sequential set of road segments 10 are compiled, they aresequentially displayed as a pictographic view of the set of roadsegments 10, as described in detail above, in the form of navigationaldirections, or a travel route 2. Further, if the user interface devicewere formed to include a position sensing receiver 48 for receivingsignals 52 containing position information, such as a GPS enabledreceiver 48, the GPS receiver 48 would also be in communication with thedisplay generator 44. In this manner, the GPS receiver 48 woulddetermine the current position of said user interface, and in turn,provide this information to the display generator 44 for use ingenerating the display and navigational instructions, or travel route 2.Since the details for this particular portion of the process are welldocumented in the prior art, there is no need for further discussion ofthis feature herein.

Turning to FIG. 14, the explore feature of the present invention isillustrated. In columnar fashion adjacent the first set of dataindicating the immediately intersecting streets 12 that contact thepresent segment of the roadway 10 being traveled are each of the otherinterconnected streets 56 that can be reached by traveling down one ofthe immediately intersecting streets 12. In this fashion, when a user istrying to find a destination that is not fully known, or is simplytrying to explore a geographic region, they can determine, at a glance,the various relationships between the streets in a particular region.

Further, FIG. 15 illustrates that two or more pictograms could be showntogether in certain cases, such as when a series of turns need to bemade close to one another, or when exploring areas adjacent to thecurrent road segment.

FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 all depict additional information that may besuperimposed onto the pictogram display of the present invention. Theadditional information may be in the form of identifying road hazards 58along the particular road segment 10 being traveled, such as ispresented in FIG. 16. Further, FIG. 17 provides a roadway 10 pictogramthat represents a typical shopping street. Certain companies 60, such asStaples™ and Ralph's™, who would have paid advertising and/orpromotional fees, are shown more prominently, by using distinctbackground colors, their company logos and different fonts. (Staples andRalph's are the trademarks of their respective owners). In addition,Staples is shown to be offering a 20% discount coupon for computerpaper, for which a code number and a short description are shown. Usersof the present invention could immediately pull into Staples just aheadon the left hand side, and request the 20% discount when purchasingcomputer paper, provided they mention the special discount code.

FIG. 18 depicts a main road segment 62 with a superimposed real-timephotographic image showing the traffic 64 over the 3 miles ahead of thedriver. The driver's position 16 is indicated with a red arrow near thebottom of the road 62, and the direction of travel is east. A red arrow66 near the top of the road 62 indicates that the driver needs to make aleft turn onto a road named “Halloran Rd.”. The intersecting roads 68are depicted pictographically, in proportional relationship with thereal world rather than in the equal spacing relationships that werediscussed earlier. Further, as indicated with respect to FIG. 17,advertisers with locations along the road have their logos prominentlyshowcased at their places of business 60 along the road 62.

Turning now to FIGS. 19 and 20, an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention provides for the use of the pictogram, straight-line displaytechnique of the present invention to create standalone maps ofindividual road segments 70, in a pre-printed form that is distributedeither singly or as part of a map book. Clearly, these standalone mapsfor a single road segment 70 may also be printed on demand using acomputer printer in conjunction with any of the apparatus of the presentinvention. The location of the road segment 70 is selected by specifyingan address, intersection, latitude and longitude, page number from a mapbook such as the Thomas Guide™ by Rand McNally, or any other selectionmeans. The possible orientations are then shown, and the user can selectwhich orientation is to be used. Several miles of road, and a pluralityof road intersections could be clearly shown in one single road segment70 map, depending on the detail level selected. Similarly, whenpresented in pre-printed maps and map books, road segments 70 could beindexed by road name, and maps of each of the roads' relevant segmentsfor the area covered could then be shown in one or in both traveldirections.

The storage and display of maps and geographic information in accordanceto the present invention's preferred embodiments is greatly enhanced ascompared to the prior art. This is the result of depicting roadintersections topologically as a combinatorial structure withoutgeometric information and representing the road segments themselves aslinear pictograms. The benefits are illustrated in the comparisonprovided in FIGS. 21-24. FIG. 21 schematically illustrates the spacetaken up by a typical cartographic map layout with the line grids 72representing the roads and the landmass 74 represented by the diagonalhatching in the background. FIG. 22 represents the same cartographiclayout wherein the relational structure is retained between the roads 72but the landmass 74 representation has been removed. FIG. 23 in turnrepresents all of the roadway segments 72 originally depicted in FIGS.21 and 22 compressed in a manner where they are simply placed side byside in a stacked, compressed format. In this arrangement, the roadsegments 72 occupy only 20% of the original space required by theoriginal cartographic arrangement. FIG. 24 depicts the amount oflandmass 74 space that has been freed up by the present invention ascompared to the original cartographic layout. The visual space that hasbeen liberated by the display technique of the present invention can inturn be used for showing many more landmarks, thus making reckoningeasier and more accurate. The ability to navigate by landmark featuresmay in fact become critical when GPS capabilities are not present or arenon-responsive (“frozen”).

In FIG. 25 an alternate embodiment pictogram of the roadway segment 76is shown. In this embodiment, the roadway 76 is shown as a single linerather than a rendering of the roadway surface. It can be seen, however,that while the roadway segment 76 itself has been depicted in a reducedformat, all of the other features of the pictogram display of thepresent invention remain intact such as the columnar data format, thetime and distance estimates 26 and the connecting street information 12.

For the purpose of illustration, FIGS. 26 and 27 depict respectively anavigational device 78 with a cartographic display 80 and a navigationalaid 82 with a pictographic display 84 as it would appear on the sameportable GPS system. It is clear that the pictographic display 84provided by the present invention is clearer and easier for the user tonavigate and locate the relevant points of interest. Further, thepictographic display 84 is far less cluttered and easily communicates alarge amount of information that simply cannot be obtained by referringto the cartographic display 80.

Comparison of Maps

Cartographic Map Present Invention Number of intersections per view 112  Pavement markings are familiar No Yes Number of Points of Interestper 2 5 view All text displayed horizontally No Yes Directions tohospital shown No Yes Total distance per view 0.3 miles 2.3 milesReadability LOW HIGH Cognitive load HIGH LOW Number of advertisements 02

One skilled in the art can appreciate that the various embodimentsherein can include other features that would make the disclosure of thepresent invention compatible with virtually any available mapping ornavigation arrangement known in the prior art. For example, the systemmay include audio directions that indicate to the driver what thecurrent position is, by stating the road names and/or pavement markingsand/or landmarks ahead or previously passed. Additionally, in operation,the system of the present invention may be offered as add-on software,with or without, dedicated peripherals for installation onto existingGPS-enabled devices such as portable or permanently installed standaloneGPS systems and GPS-enabled PDAs, mobile telephones such as cellular andsatellite telephones, computers (mainframe, desktop, laptop, palmtop,etc.) or Internet-based navigation services such as maps.google.com,www.mapquest.com, www.mappoint.com, and maps.yahoo.com. (Google,Mapquest, Mappoint and Yahoo are trademarks of their respective owners.)

The method and system of the present invention further serves to providea user with enhanced directional orientation. While the preferredperspective view of the present invention is a “hovering” view, such asis provided in the all of the figures, other perspective views arepossible, such as a “bird's eye” view, where the map is viewed from aposition hundreds or thousands of feet above and behind the user.Similarly, buildings and other features that are shown as pictograms onthe display may be shown dimensionally to create a 3-D-like appearance.

Also, because of the additional display and printing space madeavailable by the present invention, the locational predictability of theinformation shown, and other various techniques, the readability,usefulness, and visual appeal of the maps can be enhanced when usingpreferred embodiments of the present invention. Real-life photographicimages could be used instead of icons. Names of intersecting roads canbe shown in plain text displayed horizontally (right side up for easyreading in most languages.) and the font size used can be selected suchthat the map can be readable by most users with average eyesight, onmost display monitors and printers. The names of the roads can beincorporated into graphical representations of street signs to enhanceuser familiarity and for faster visual access. Further, since therelevant intersection and landmark information is being provided incolumnar format rather than having to be displayed in conjunction with acartographic representation, major and/or important intersecting roadnames can be differentiated and emphasized from the other road names bybeing shown in larger and/or bold lettering and/or by using a border,and/or by using other such emphasizing techniques. Further, text andgraphics colors, effects and shadings may be used in order to highlight,separate, or identify pieces of information in accordance with soundhuman factors engineering principles.

Another feature that can be more easily communicated to the user as aresult of the additional display and printing space the presence of anyone or more potentially hazardous road conditions, such as is depictedin FIG. 16. These may include for example: bridges, broken pavement,bumps, construction, curves, dips, falling rocks, foggy areas, heavytrucks, hidden intersections, high wind, ice, narrow roads, pedestriancrossings, railroad crossings, school zones, slippery when wet, steepinclines, stop signs, tire chains required, traffic lights, yield signsas well as many others. Warning signals associated with these hazardscould be received by the apparatus of the present invention directlyfrom transmitting devices located at or near the hazard locations.

In addition to providing the functionality describe above, the presentapparatus may include a variety of other integrated capabilities as aresult of the large amount of free display space that is created. Thesecapabilities may include the integration of information and servicesprovided by companies such as XM™ Satellite Radio Inc. and Pharos™Science and Applications, Inc. (XM and Pharos are trademarks of theirrespective owners). Other capabilities including setting a distanceand/or time range within which selected points of interest and/orimportant roads could be shown, providing navigation-assistanceinformation, or users could selecting and/or setting any number ofalarms that could give advance notices and/or warnings of destinations,intersections, points of interest, hazards, distances, times, trafficproblems, etc. coming up. Similarly, weather information may be providedby organizations such as the U.S. National Weather System (NWS) andother weather broadcasters. Emergency alerts issued by systems such asthe Emergency Alert System (EAS) operated by organizations such as theFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could also be indicated bythe system based on the current location. Predictive information such ashotels to be encountered en route between 9 pm and 11 pm, restaurants enroute between 11 am and 1 pm, etc. could be provided. One or more newsand entertainment devices and services such as radio, television,Internet, and MP3, CD, VCR, DVD, video game, and cassette players andother such devices and services could be incorporated into embodimentsof the present invention. The present invention could provideinformation to assist geocaching users. For applicable embodiments ofthe present invention, the user may chose to display and/or printpreviously-captured images, such as images of roads, intersections,storefronts, monuments, mountains, and other points of interest andfeatures located on or nearby the current road segment being shown.Sources and means for retrieving these images include local datastorage; WiFi, EDGE and other mobile wireless data services; real-timeand archived transmissions from roadside cameras, satellites,helicopters, airplanes, balloons, etc; and downloads from the Internet.The system could include a camera to record one or more images during atrip, and optionally time-stamp and/or location-stamp such image orimages, with or without manual intervention by the users. Optionally,the users would be able to record additional information related to theimage or images recorded by the system. The system could record imagesand index them to the route locations where the images were captured. Atany time after the recording is made, users could select locations onthe route's map and view, store, or transmit the images. Some of theembodiments of the present invention could automatically send or receiveemails, facsimiles, SMS, and other types of text, images, and audiomessages based on criteria specified by the user. Embodiments of thepresent invention equipped with wireless transmission capabilities couldenable users to carry out telephonic communications. VariousLocation-Based Services (LBS) could access embodiments of the presentinvention, or be accessed by them, so that points of interest, such asthe ATM (Automated Teller Machine) closest to the current location couldbe located. Reservations for restaurants, movies, theater, sportingevents, tours, and to other locations and events could be made by thesystem. Purchases of products and services from establishments shown onthe system could be made through the system. Embodiments of the presentinvention could deliver news, games, and entertainment programs based onthe current location. Embodiments of the present invention could locatevideo and other game-players based on the current location, and/or couldmake the current location known to video and other game-players.Embodiments of the present invention, when in a user-specified orpre-set proximity to landmarks such as stores, monuments, historicalplaces, and tourist attractions, can have the landmark names,descriptions, images, history, address, operating hours, merchandise forsale, admission prices, and other such information mapcast to the user.Embodiments of the present invention can interface with MicrosoftOutlook or other such organizing systems, enabling the users to send andreceive emails, calendar items, contact information and notes, and tosynchronize with the organizing systems.

Some or all of the geographic information, points of interest,commercial establishments, freeway exits, and other data and attributesdata used by maps, devices and services provided according to thepresent invention may be obtained from sources such as commercialsuppliers of mapping data, such as Navteq Corporation, Tele Atlas NorthAmerica Inc., Rand McNally & Company, and Zenrin USA, Governments, suchas the U.S. Government, advertisers, operators of points of interestsuch as restaurants, automotive service stations, amusement parks, andhotels. The data used by the present invention may be downloaded usingstandard communication methods such as hard-wired telephonetransmissions, cable television services, wireless transmissions, directcables, or computer media. Some or all of the data used by the presentinvention may be converted, interpolated or extrapolated from thirdparty databases. Some or all of the data used by the present inventionmay be created from scratch for the present invention. The data file(s)used by the present invention may be compressed in order to accommodatesmall-form devices such as portable GPS systems, PDAs, Pocket PCs,satellite telephones, and cellular telephones.

Getting from one destination to another (“routing”) is performed similarto the current operation of computer, Internet and GPS-based systems.However, as a result of having more visual space available, more routingchoices can be made available. The routing capabilities needed by thepresent invention can be provided by third party routing softwareproviders. Similarly, the present invention could do its ownroute-calculations. Preferably, the routing software used by the presentinvention could be developed specifically for it by using standardprogramming languages and known mathematical algorithms. The presentinvention could offer alternate route choices, depending on preferenceselections, including: suggested route, shortest route, fastest route,scenic route, least fuel consumption route, avoid congested roads, avoidexpressways, avoid toll roads, avoid ferries, avoid specific roads,avoid specific towns, avoid tunnels, avoid bridges, avoid heights oravoid left turns. Further, one or more waypoints may be allowed. One ormore start and destination points may be stored in memory for easierselection at a later time. Route guidance may be suspended at any time.More than one route may be set at any one time. Any of the routes setmay be simulated, i.e. the user may go through the route step-by-stepwithout actually traveling on the route.

It can therefore be seen that the present invention provides a novelparadigm for mapping and creating navigational aids. In particular, thepresent invention provides a method and system for depicting roadwaysegments in a linear pictographic manner that provides predictablelocations for relevant information while liberating a large amount ofvisual space for the conveyance of mapping information in a neat andorganized fashion. In this manner, the method and system of the presentinvention provide a pictographic mapping representation that reduces thestress and cognitive load imposed on a user of the device. For thesereasons, the instant invention is believed to represent a significantadvancement in the art, which has substantial commercial merit.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structureembodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventiveconcept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms hereinshown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mapping apparatus comprising a processor and astorage medium, the processor configured to: generate a non-scaled andcompressed view of roads on a display device based at least in part onmapping data, position data, and data indicative of what road map datato use in generating said non-scaled and compressed view, the non-scaledand compressed view of roads depicting roads as vertical linearpictograms and arranged so that a view representative of a currenttravel road and upcoming roads relative to a current geographic locationof the apparatus is displayed in an expected order of encounter andindications of intersecting roads are arranged as a compressed list in acolumn layout with descriptive features grouped together by type anddisplayed in columns irrespective of actual distance betweenintersections; and update said non-scaled and compressed view.
 2. Themapping apparatus of claim 1, wherein said non-scaled and compressedview of said roads depicts representations of said roads as straightlines with no landmass features or scaling.
 3. The mapping apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includesinformation related to features adjacent to said roads and informationrelated to actual distance and estimated time required to travel tovarious locations along said roads, said information displayed incolumnar format adjacent to said representations of said roads.
 4. Themapping apparatus of claim 2, wherein said non-scaled and compressedview includes icons representing points of interest, said icons beingpositioned along said representations of said roads and positioned in anon-scaled relative order of encounter.
 5. The mapping apparatus ofclaim 1, further configured to receive signals and determine the currentgeographic location of said mapping apparatus.
 6. The mapping apparatusof claim 1, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includes acurrent travel road and intersecting roads perpendicular to said currenttravel road.
 7. The mapping apparatus of claim 6, wherein saidnon-scaled and compressed view includes a plurality of iconsrepresenting points of interest, said icons being positioned on saidcurrent travel road and said intersecting roads in a non-scaled relativeorder of encounter.
 8. The mapping apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidnon-scaled and compressed view includes a central map area including acurrent travel road and intersecting roads perpendicular to said currenttravel road, and a plurality of icons representing points of interest onsaid current travel road and said intersecting roads in a non-scaledrelative order of encounter, said non-scaled and compressed view furtherincluding a peripheral information area outside said central map area,said peripheral information area including a plurality of iconsrepresenting points of interest within a predetermined distance of thecentral map area but not located on roads depicted within said centralmap area.
 9. The mapping apparatus of claim 8, wherein said icons insaid peripheral information area are grouped into icon clouds based ontheir general geographic direction from the central map area.
 10. Themapping apparatus of claim 1, wherein said non-scaled and compressedview is updated in response to changes in said position data or adetermined direction of travel.
 11. A computer-implemented methodcomprising, by a processor: generating a non-scaled and compressed viewof roads on a display device based, at least in part, on mapping data,position data, and data indicative of what road map data to use ingenerating said non-scaled and compressed view, the non-scaled andcompressed view of roads depicting roads as vertical linear pictogramsand arranged so that a view representative of a current travel road andupcoming roads relative to a current geographic location is displayed inan expected order of encounter and indications of intersecting roads arearranged as a compressed list in a column layout with descriptivefeatures grouped together by type and displayed in columns irrespectiveof actual distance between intersections; and updating said non-scaledand compressed view.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said non-scaledand compressed view of said roads depicts representations of said roadsas straight lines with no landmass features or scaling.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includesinformation related to features adjacent to said roads and informationrelated to actual distance and estimated time required to travel tovarious locations along said roads, said information displayed incolumnar format adjacent to said representations of said roads.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includesicons representing points of interest, said icons being positioned alongsaid representations of said roads and positioned in a non-scaledrelative order of encounter.
 15. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising determining the current geographic location.
 16. The methodof claim 11, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includes acurrent travel road and intersecting roads perpendicular to said currenttravel road.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said non-scaled andcompressed view includes a plurality of icons representing points ofinterest, said icons being positioned on said current travel road andsaid intersecting roads in a non-scaled relative order of encounter. 18.The method of claim 11, wherein said non-scaled and compressed viewincludes a central map area including a current travel road andintersecting roads perpendicular to said current travel road, and aplurality of icons representing points of interest on said currenttravel road and said intersecting roads in a non-scaled relative orderof encounter, said non-scaled and compressed view further including aperipheral information area outside said central map area, saidperipheral information area including a plurality of icons representingpoints of interest within a predetermined distance of the central maparea but not located on roads depicted within said central map area. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein said icons in said peripheralinformation area are grouped into icon clouds based on their generalgeographic direction from the central map area.
 20. The method of claim11, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view is updated in responseto changes in said position data or a determined direction of travel.21. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereoncomputer-readable instructions configured to, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to, at least: generate a non-scaled andcompressed view of roads on a display device based at least in part onmapping data, position data, and data indicative of what road map datato use in generating said non-scaled and compressed view, the non-scaledand compressed view of roads depicting roads as vertical linearpictograms and arranged so that a view representative of a currenttravel road and upcoming roads relative to a current geographic locationis displayed in an expected order of encounter and indications ofintersecting roads are arranged as a compressed list in a column layoutwith descriptive features grouped together by type and displayed incolumns irrespective of actual distance between intersections; andupdate said non-scaled and compressed view.
 22. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 21, wherein said non-scaled and compressed viewof said roads depicts representations of said roads as straight lineswith no landmass features or scaling.
 23. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 22, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includesinformation related to features adjacent to said roads and informationrelated to actual distance and estimated time required to travel tovarious locations along said roads, said information displayed incolumnar format adjacent to said representations of said roads.
 24. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein said non-scaledand compressed view includes icons representing points of interest, saidicons being positioned along said representations of said roads andpositioned in a non-scaled relative order of encounter.
 25. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein thecomputer-readable instructions are further configured to, when executedby the processor, cause the processor to determine the currentgeographic location.
 26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim21, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includes a currenttravel road and intersecting roads perpendicular to said current travelroad.
 27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein saidnon-scaled and compressed view includes a plurality of iconsrepresenting points of interest, said icons being positioned on saidcurrent travel road and said intersecting roads in a non-scaled relativeorder of encounter.
 28. The computer-readable storage medium of claim21, wherein said non-scaled and compressed view includes a central maparea including a current travel road and intersecting roadsperpendicular to said current travel road, and a plurality of iconsrepresenting points of interest on said current travel road and saidintersecting roads in a non-scaled relative order of encounter, saidnon-scaled and compressed view further including a peripheralinformation area outside said central map area, said peripheralinformation area including a plurality of icons representing points ofinterest within a predetermined distance of the central map area but notlocated on roads depicted within said central map area.
 29. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein said icons in saidperipheral information area are grouped into icon clouds based on theirgeneral geographic direction from the central map area.
 30. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein said non-scaledand compressed view is updated in response to changes in said positiondata or a determined direction of travel.